PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) —
At least two people, including a 17 year-old schoolboy, were stabbed to death as Trinidad and Tobago celebrated the annual Carnival celebrations with street parades on Monday.
Police said that the teen, Reshad Singh, was stabbed during an altercation during the J’Ouvert celebrations in Chaguanas, south of here. They said three people have since been detained and are assisting in the investigations.
Police said they also ended the J’Ouvert celebrations in the southern town of San Fernando a few hours early, after an unidentified man was stabbed to death and another injured.
The authorities said the man was involved in an altercation with a group of men and they began fighting. He was stabbed in the chest and abdomen. He was taken to the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) where he was pronounced dead on arrival.,p> Police also reported that 21-year-old, Keon Jack, who was liming with friends, was shot and is in a critical condition at the SFGH.
Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago security officials are on high alert after eight men have been detained amid reports of a terrorist plot to disrupt the Carnival celebrations that end here on Tuesday with the traditional street jump-up.
Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams told a news conference on Sunday that investigations were continuing into the alleged plot but urged residents and visitors alike to be vigilant as they participate in the celebrations.
“We have done all that we can do at this point in time to avert any threat to the Carnival celebrations,” he said, adding “persons can feel assured that Carnival 2018 you will have all the necessary safety and security support of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service.
“Persons who are to take part in the Carnival celebrations, enjoy it, feel assured that the Trinidad and Tobago police will be out there in the numbers across all venues of the celebration”.
Williams would not be engaged in discussing whether or not those detained have been linked to terrorist groups such as ISIS in Syria.
The US Department of State’s Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 has named Trinidad and Tobago the country with the highest per capita rate of ISIS recruitment in the Western Hemisphere. According to the report, more than 70 nationals are believed to be fighting with ISIS in Syria.
You must log in to post a comment.